
/v*v %-tfv v^v v^ 







FRANKLIN AND WRENTHAM 



n\ 



I)h>. J. C. (jALIJSON 



COPYRIGHTED 



Reprinted 1904 

with slight revision and additional pictures 

from an article in the 

NEW ENGLAND MAGAZINE 

November 1^09 



RRAN KLIN 

S E N T [NEl P R R S s 

I904 




KIM. PHILIPS POND. 

FRANKLIN AND WRENTHAM. 
By Dr. /. ( '. Gallison. 



I< ) \ I . \ ears before t lie w hite man 
came t<> the shores of New 
England, the wild I ndians 
1 1 1 imed i he f< irests in <-\ m direct ion. 
Naturally they followed the large 
streams which to them were the great 
thoi ough fares. < Occasional 1 \ sh< mi 
ciii g < ir carries were formed from one 
w ater >\ stem i o anot her. These \\ ere 
the great Indian trails of New Eng- 
land. One \ en fam< ms example was 
t he sin 'i i cut from Narragansel I I '>;i \ 
to the ( iharles Rn er al •• \\w er End " 
and Populatic Pond. Midway be- 
tween M "ii 11 1 Hope in Rhode Island 
,i nd the < Ihurles Ri ver is n group of 
beautiful | >i mds, now within the con 
fines of Wrentham and Franklin. 
This was t he fa v orite resort of the I n- 
dians who ack'.iowledged allegiance 
to M assasi tit and later to his son and 
successor, the famous Kins Pliilii>. 



To this region they had given the 
name Wollomonopoag. Around these 
ponds were grouped wigwams, and 
here fields were cult ivated in I he abo- 
riginal way. In recent da} r s it is no 
unusual thing for the ploughshare to 
i urn up arrowheads and stone imple- 
ments of various kinds. King Philip's 
Pond and Wollomonopoag are in 
Wrentham ; i he beautiful I Incas, in 
Franklin. These ponds, while form- 
ing a favorite dwelling-place, were of 
greal strategic importance to the sav- 
ages. A short journey to the no] t h- 
east brought them to Populatic or 
Pabbulat i uk Pond, \\ Inch i-> a nine 
w idening out of < lharles River, w here 
ii seems to end its do\vn\t ard journe} 
from Mendon to 1 he sea. From this 
point up t he st ream the} could easil y 
reach Mendon and the Blackstone 
\ a I lr\ . or so down tin- stream to 



FRANKLIN AND WRhNTHAM. 



Medtield, Sherborn, Watertown and 
tidewater. A short journey south- 
ward brought them to Taunton and 
the Old Colony shore. 

The coming of the white man dis- 
turbed all this, and his encroachments 
were watched with suspicious eyes. 
A few short years from the historic 
landing at Plymouth found the tide 
of hardy pioneers sweeping up the 
( lharles River and finding its way into 
the lesser streams, or availing itself 
of the convenient Indian trails, sur- 



2, 1085, ordering " that there shall be 
a plantation settled about two miles 
above the falls of Charles River, on 
the northeast side thereof, to have 
ground lying to it on both sides of the 
river, both upland and meadow, to be 
laid out hereafter as the court shall 
direct.'" This court held a session the 
next year, September 8, 1636, and it 
was -Ordered that the plantation to 
be settled above the falls of Charles 
River shall have three years' immun- 
ity from public charges, to be ac- 




LAKE WOh LO JION OPO AG . 



prising the primitive inhabitants in 
their forest strongholds. -Welcome, 
Englishmen," said Samoset : and 
Massasoit said it after him. Yet the 
wily old chieftain, as well as his son, 
believed himself powerful enough to 
wipe out the intruders at a moment's 
notice. Fifteen years only after the 
Mayfioiver landed her precious living 
freight upon Plymouth Rock, five 
years after the settlement of Boston, 
we find the adventurous spirits in 
-court" at •'Newtowne" September 



counted from the first day of May 
next, and the name of said plantation 
is to be Deddham, to enjoy all that 
land on the southerly and easterly 
sides of Charles River not formerly 
granted to any town or particular 
person, and also to have five miles 
square on the other side of the river." 
This large grant of territory included 
what now forms thirteen towns and 
parts of four others. From this gen- 
ealogical line came Wrentham and 
Franklin. 



I R Wkl IN \\l i \\ REN I II \W 



5 



I )t'illi;ilu w n s 

duly settled and 
grew apace until 
i h e y ea r I GOO 
came, and with it 
adventurous spir- 
its d e s i ro us of 
pushi n g to the 
westward several 
miles, w here near 
some ponds valu- 
able metals were 
rumored to exist. 
So mi a •• led ure- 
'l,i y " f o u r men 
were senl oul "to 
view the lands. 
both upland ami 
hi eadow, near ,N " IAN ,: "' ' 

aboul the ponds by George Indian's Their names were Anthony Fisher, 
wigwam, and make report of what Sargent Ellis, Robert Ware, James 
the} find to the selectmen in the first Thorp, Isaac Milliard, Samuel Fisher, 
opportunity they can take." Other Samuel Parker, John Farrington, 
men were added to the party, with llalph Freeman and Sargent Stevens, 
full powers to treat with the Indians "all good Franklin and Wrentham 
for their rights to the soil. Soon after names to this day." 
at leas! ten men more had gone to In 1662 Philip succeeded to the 

hreal\ ground in Wollomonopoag. headship of the tribe of the Wain 





w III \ i a \ M i "M WON. 



FRANKLIN AND WRENTHAM. 



panoags, and perhaps to collect the 
means for his projected war upon the 
settlements he was ready to drive 
sharp bargains for his hinds. So the 
men from Dedham succeeded in se- 
curing- a deed of Wollomonopoag five 
miles square. The succeeding half 
dozen years were devoted by the set- 
tlers to subduing the forests, clearing 
fields for grain and grass, watching 
their savage neighbors, and fighting 
the wild animals. By Philip these 



cal " George Indian " whose wigwam 
in 1H62 was at Wollomonopoag. She 
disposed of her ten acre farm in ex- 
change for lands in what is now 
Franklin, near Uncas Pond, thus be- 
coming the first settler of Franklin 
territory. This trade being perfected, 
a messenger soon after comes to Ded- 
ham to say that the irrepressible 
Philip is in threatening mood at Wol- 
lomonopoag, and has other lands to 
sell. These are '• ticklish times, and 




PAKI.OU — I) KAN ACADEMY. 



years were improved in perfecting the 
preparations for his uprising against 
the white man. Confident in his su- 
perior strength, he was willing to sell 
vast tracts of land for trifling sums, 
believing himself and his forces to be 
able to secure both price and lands at 
one fell swoop. In 1668, at a town 
meeting in Dedham, a messenger from 
King Philip appears. It is a squaw 
this time who does the "big talk," 
although accompanied by her son 
John and brother George, the identi- 



Timothy Dwiglit is hurried to Wol- 
lomonopoag to buy up whatever lands 
he may have to offer." Although 
Dedham had, through Capt. Willett, 
paid Philip in the year 1GG2 for all 
his right and title in the land at Wol- 
lomonopoag, now, in 1669, the wily 
old chief lays claims to lands within 
his former ceding, and dictates the 
following letter: 

"Philip sachem to Major Lusher 
and Lieutenant Fisher, Gentlemen 
Sirs — Thes are to desire you to send 



FRANKI IN \\l i WRENTH WV 




FRANKLIN AND WRENTHAM. 



me a holland .short 
by this indian, the 
which attthe present 
I much want, and in 
consideration where- 
of I shall satisfie you 
to content, for I in- 
tend to meet with you 
at Wollomonupouge, 
that we may treat 
about a tract of land. 
I pray fail not to send 
me a good holland 
shurt by the bearer 
hereof, for I intend 
next week to be at 
plimouth court, and 
I want a good shurt to goe in. I 
shall not further trouble you at pres- 
ent, but subscribe myself your friend, 
Philip sachem's 1' mark. Mount 
Hop, y e twenty-fifth May Kit')!*/' 

It is to be hoped that the "hol- 
land shurt" was sent and that the 
dusky sagamore made a- dashing ap- 
pearance therein at Plymouth court. 



HHHHHHHHHi 




MILTON M. FISIIKK. 



years the conspiracy 
of Philip was ripen- 
ing, and in February, 
1675, ( ). S., his war- 
riors dashed upon 
the frontier towns 
from S w a n s e a to 
1 1 ad ley. Lancaster 
meets its doom, and 
Med Held is in smoke 
and ruins. Wollo- 
monopoag lies in the 
Indians' path from 
Medtield to Mount 
Hope. News travels 
slowly, but it reach- 
es the settlements, 
and women and children are hurried 
to Dedham. By the last of March 
the settlement was deserted and left 
to the mercy of the prowling foe. 
All buildings were burned but two. 
The settlers were alerc and vengeful. 
A bloody encounter took place at In- 
dian Roclc. now a historic spot in 
Franklin. Traditions of this battle 




IIKAX ACADEMY- IiKOEI'TION liooM. 



In 1673 there were sixteen families are yet cherished by the old inhab- 

only in the settlement of Wollomon- itants. "The essential facts are that 

opoag, many having returned dis- a man named Rocket found a trail of 

CQuraged to Dedham. During these forty-two Indians.which he cautiously 



FRANKLIN AND WREN III \\\. 9 

followed until night, when he saw road crosses the Charles River at 

them laid down to sleep. He mus- Rockville in the present Millis; and 

tered n dozen resolute men, under vn\ soon settlers from Medfield or 

Captain Robert Ware, and before "Boggestow" spread themselves in 

daylight the little band was posted the territory of the future Franklin. 

within eyesight of the sleeping sav- Wrentham, ''dear, delightful, pro- 

ages, ready to salute them as soon as saic Wrentham ! " No better example 

the) awaked. It was n sharp and of the old-fashioned New England vil- 

anxiou-t \\ itch, for the Indians were lage existed than Wrentham previous 

1: thin two tn one <>( the white t" the advenl of the .steam railway. 

11. I'. 'tween daylight ami sunrise The iron horse, so rapturously wel- 

tiie Inli 1:1- aro::e almost together, corned by Wren thamites, was, like the 

when at a preconcerted signal each wooden horse of the enemies of an- 

waiting musket sent it> bullet to its cient Troy, pregnant with lues to the 

m irk. 1 ' The su Idenness of the attack reiornins deities of tin' delisrhtful old 




FIiAXKM.N l>l \ N \> \IU-M\ 1 <>\\ 1 1; IN CKXTKI 



s 1 confused the [ndians who escaped town, who fled to the wilds at the 

the first shot that they rushed and sound of the firsl screeching whistle 

1 Mped down a steep precipice of the I 1 1' the MllUilV flelld. lleYer to letUIII. 

rich, where, maimed and lamed by The dreamy little village is slowl} 

the tall, they speedily became victims awakening from its century of sleep. 

of the quick and steads aim iif 1 lie and putting mi the airs of a modern 

whites. One or twi 1\ escaped to town. This is gain to the mercantile 

tell t he fate of their comrades. and material interests, but as positive 

Wollomonopoag was incorporated destruction in the poetical ami pas 

the 17th of October, L673, and given toral. Previous i" the Rip Van 

the name ,f the old English town Winkle awakening South Street was 

Wrentham, whence some of the lam a delightful vista, with its generous 

dies came. In 1684 a petition for a width, stretching awaj Eormiles,o> 

road was granted ami the road made arched by grand old elms and bor- 

f l' 'in Wrentham to Medfield, This dered by mansions placed well hack 



10 



FRANKLIN AND WRENTHAM. 




NATHANIEL EMMONS. 

from the street, each with its large 
expanse of well-kept lawn and field. 
Wide verandas gave a comfortable, 
sleepy air to the houses of such 
generous proportions, remind- 
ing one of retired capitalists 
half dozing away the dreamy 
afternoons in reclining chairs, 
with their broad-brimmed hats 
drawn down over their eyes, 
scanning the passing show with 
languid interest. The tempta- 
tion to the weary traveler to 
eider the well-kept grounds 
and fall asleep in the inviting 
shade was almost irresistible. 
The dusty old stage coach, 
jogging along the wide avenue 
twice each day with its sleepy 
freight, seemed an integral 
part of the scene. Now the rail- 
way fiend, with its screeching 
whistle, sends idlers hurrying 
along the dusty way, while the 
ancient coach is rapidly going 
to destruction beneath a decay- 
ing shed. 

George's Park, with Lake 



Pearl, or Lake Wollomonopoag, 
as it rightfully should be called, 
is a beautiful spot. Nature 
has lavishly bestowed upon it 
grove and glen, stream and in- 
let, shining water and dark 
shore. Here thousands of 
pleasure-seekers find each sea- 
son recreation and health with 
sweet relief from glaring walls 
and heated streets. The shores 
of King I'hilip's Pond and Wol- 
lomonopoag are lined with sum- 
mer cottages, which during the 
season are filled by hundreds 
of excursionists, bicyclists and 
amusement seekers — all this 
upon the identical ground 
where King Philip once lived 
and reigned. 

The manufacture of straw 
goods is closely identified with 
Wrentham and Franklin. in fact, 
this industry was started in Wren- 
tham about a bundled years ago. 




^-<*B^. %<ffl 



mf 




mm 






; \< i. MANN, 



FRANKLIN \Nh \YI*I:NTH\\\ 



i i 



The stor} goes thai in lT'. 1 ^ Naomi, ular, and everj well-dressed woman 
wife of Colonel John Whipple, kept was unhappy until she possessed a 
.1 small millinery shop in lier hus- bonnel of the new fashion. The ex- 
band's store, [n her emplo} was Bet- tensive demand for these goods cre- 
sev Metcalf, an ingenious descend- atedanew industry. Wrentham and 
ant of one of the first settlers. To- Franklin became the headquarters ol 
gether they unbraided a piece of im- this straw industry. The braiding of 
ported straw braid, and, Yankee-like, straw became a family employment, 
discovered the secret of its construe- Fathers, mothers and children, with 
tion. Obtaining some oal straw, skillful fingers, wrought defllj miles 
1 1 n ■ \ flattened or pressed it out, and of braid, which was taken by small 
successfully imitated the foreign traders in exchange for good.*. Nu- 




I ul |; i OKM I i;-. | RANKL1N. 

The birthplace "i Horace Mann maj be seen in the distance, at the left "i the p i 

braid. Bonnets were made l>\ these merous trams canvassed the country 
quick-witted women,and boxes of them collecting braid, which at the factories 
sold in Providence and later in New was converted into bonnets and sent 
York. In the summer of 1799 sev- to the great cities. Fishei and l>a\ 
eral Providence girls came to a board- ol Wrentham were pioneers in this 
chool in Massachusetts, wearing industry. In Franklin the well-known 
these home-made bonnets. They house "i Thayer was established in 
created great excitement among the 1810. This was subsequently con- 
women "| the community. One of tinued l>\ Major l>a\is Thayer, nnd 
these girls, Sall\ Richmond, came to later l>\ his sons, Emen and Davis 

scl 1 in Wrentham. She taught Thayer, Jr., whose well-known fac- 

several women the secret of strav toi'3 was until recently in active 

braiding, It became immensely pop- operation upon the ancient site. 



12 



FRANKLIN AND WRENTHAM. 




im 



THE LITTLE IilUCK SCHOOLHOUSH. 

In 1719, the town of Wrentliam 
having grown steadily, thirteen fam- 
ilies were setoff to Bellingham. This 
bred discontent among the overflow 
from " Bosfffestow," or Med Held to 
the future Franklin. Nineteen fami- 
lies formed the nucleus of the new 
town. After a prolonged struggle 
through many years of acrimonious 
debate, plots and counterplots be- 
tween the two precincts of Wren- 
tliam, the " State of Massachusetts 
Bay"' in the year 1778 passed, "an 
Act incorporating the westerly part 
of the town of Wrentliam, in the 
County of Suffolk, into a town by the 
n line of Franklin." The stout old 



Jabez Fisher, who was perhaps the 
leading moving spirit, was by the act 
authorized and required to issue his 
warrant to one of the principal inhab- 
itants of said town of Franklin, "au- 
Ihoiizing and requiring him to Noti- 
fie and warn the Freeholders and 
other in] abitants of said Town to 
meet together at such time and place 




w a I'- 




ll'. MAUY 8 -CHUB II, SITE OF THE NATHANIEL 
CHURCH. 



THE HORACE MANN SCHOOL. 

as shall be expressed in said 

rant." 

In the original draft of the charter 

the new town is called Exeter. Again 
the stalwart hand of -Jabez 
'' Fisher, he being chairman 

of the committee having the 
matter in charge, is thought 
t ) be seen erasing Exeter 
and writing Franklin in- 
stead. This compliment to 
the distinguished statesman 
was duly appreciated and 
was the inspiration of his 
sending instructions to his 
friend Dr. Price of London 
to make a selection of books 
to be sent to his new name- 
sake in Massachusetts, as 
the nucleus of a library for 
the infant town. This gift 
originally one hundred and 



FRANK! IN \\l ) \\ REN I ll \\\ 



i 5 







;*"« 



i III i ONGHI '.A I m\ \l. cm i.( ii. 




sixteen volumes is care- 
fully presei ved in i lie j * 1 1 1 »— 

lie library of Franklin, 
vvnieli now contains over 
five thousand vol nine-. - 

A massive and elegant 
new library building is in 
process of construction as 
a memorial to the late 
Joseph < '<■ Ray, 1 he gift of 
hi- daughters, L;\ dia I'. I>'a\ 
and M vs. A nnie Ra \ Tha \ er. 
When completed il will 
-land in >t nil! \ as the mi >n 
Liment of a lamented and 
public-spirited cil izen, but 
as the permanenl and fitting memo- location al this point is hard to find, 
rial of a historic library which is per- for no water power is here to run a 
haps the oldesl on record in New sawmill or a gristmill. No especial 
England. The building in its arch i- fertility of soil, no granite quarries 
tecture and appointments will he all nor mines rich in precious metals, if 
that could be wished, and will he a we except the recently discovered 
delight to the eye and an inspiration gold mine. (?) Possibly it was bc- 
to the mind. cause of the restlessness of the settlers 

.hist where the road from Dedham of Wrentham North Precinct, and in 
tii Woonsockel crosses the old stage answer to their demands for a sep- 
route from Taunton to Worcester is irate existence and church, that the 
!■ ranklin Village. The reason for it- •' suvvair from Medfield and chainmen 

I rom I >edham " found the exacl geo- 
metrical centre of the precinct in 
I >arius Morse's mud-pond, -w here the 
church shall short ly lie." A i ain rate, 
the he nit if ul \ ii lage is in e\ idence to- 
day as t he home of a t hriving, bust- 
ling community, proud of its past his- 
tory and of its present prosperit}', 
located upon t he highest ground of 
Norfolk ( "iint v. fanned l,\ t he health- 
iest breezes of the State. From its 
heights t he <\ e s\\ eeps from Mount 
Wachuset t in Princeton to Milton's 
blue hills, and far down over the 
Rhode Island line into t he count i\ of 
King Philip. Tins is the ground 
where Pilgrim and Wampanoag 

■ i i 'ni imi - M, •• iei >. i ii . p ,, i, ., 

Ins 1 1"- i i -. unci I •! Pi i. ■■• - reply, are ph pii in 

■I" \| |)om!ij( Dr. Kiiiin ma nl I ranklin preached .i 

ernn :omn i>| i lie houni v . and the 

»n was |>i I in 1781 Nlnetj ol n ne nun- 

I anil sixteen \ oluinea are Bl hi hi the Kranklln 
i in moni'MKNI i" \ \ i ii \ \ 1 1 i i \i M'in- i rary. 




14 



FRANKLIN AND WRENTHAM. 




struggled for supremacy, beautifully 
situated and abounding in Indian 
legend and dark and bloody battle- 
ground. Midway between Boston and 
Providence, on the main line of the 
old Norfolk County Railroad, with 
branches on the one hand to Provi- 
dence, on the other to Milford and the 
Boston & Albany Railroad at Ash- 
land, Franklin occupies a most favor- 
able situation for development and 
future prosperity. It becomes a nat- 
ural centre for all the region round 
about it, and easily leads in material 
growth. Having already pass'ed 
through that period of transition from 
the typical New England village, 
kk with its proneness to quiet and com- 
fortable ease, its conservatism and 
quality," to that of a thriving, ener- 
getic modern town, with all the recent 
advances in the lines of superior 
schools, good streets and roads, well 
kept sidewalks and beautiful lawns, 
abundant water supply, and the mani- 
fold blessings of electricity, the an- 
cient town is keenly alive to all that 



is progressive and desirable in resi- 
dential and industrial directions. 




OLIVER DKAX. 



FR Wkl l\ \\h WREN I H \\\ 



»5 



\ historic figure stands out more quail star! out from the bushes on one 

distinctly in the annals of the New side of the road; verj soon another 

England churches than the famous starts from the opposite side. Think- 

divine, Dr. Nathaniel Emmons of ing wliai if I can catch both of them, 

franklin. His quaint, antique dress, I crept softly toward them and 

cocked hat, knee breeches, silken hose clapped m\ three-cornered ha! over 

and shoe buckles belonged as distinct- the pair." Encouraged by this omen 

ively i" the dress of ;i former genera- he hastens onward, and soon arrives 

ii hi as did his austere, inflexible, im- al the scei t his labors. Sunday 

answerable arguments to their theol- morning he goes to the primitive 

ogy. lie was in a manner the con- little building among the pitch pines, 

necting link between a gloomy pas! wondering where his congregation <>! 

lie dawn of .1 more cheerful day. bellicose parlies is to come from, with 

The traditions of the town are filled not a building in sight, 
with anecdotes and reminiscences of During his entire encumbency he 

his day and generation.* Many of the was never a dictator, but can in I the 




j 

: 





: 

: 



• 1 \ M 1 - r. UAV. 



1 1; \ m 1- a. KAY. 



JOSEPH G. KAY. 



narratives are of doubtful parentage, public mind by his clear and convinc- 

but all go to make up the popular es- ing logic. He sharpened the intel- 

timate of the man. lects of his people and made them 

In 1 7' iT a small young man with a alert, discriminating 1 1 linkers, ha \ ing 

thin voice and somewhat bashful man- settled opinions of theii own. lb- 

ner, receiving n reques! to preach in ruled, therefore, only by moving in 

the Second Precinct of VVrentham the line of their own intelligent con- 

I I' 1 mklin), journeys to the scene of victions. They knew him to be sim- 

liis future labors. He has heard of ply following truth, and they had to 

the long-continued strife in the Pre- follow his guidance, because he justi- 

cinct, and is well aware thai two vig- Red every step of the way. Twice 

oroua parties are there striving for during his ministry, discouraged 

mastery. Regarding himself as hold- with his apparently fruitless labors, 

iii!_ r positive opinions of his own, he he asked a dismission, which his peo- 
has little hope thai he can heal the 

Dr each. Traveling thither he halts .seearticl •• Nathaniel Earn » and Hathei 

over night, and he says: •• I saw a Byies," in the new ewqlakp maoaziwj m a>i- 



iG 



FRANKLIN AND WRENTHAM. 




A FKAXKI.IN STI5EET. 

pie unanimously declined to grant, morning in June ? Its liigli box pulpit 

An extensive and powerful revival in and impending sounding-board, hung 

17(84, however, marked the end of his by a single iron rod an inch square; 

discouragements. the two pegs on each side of the pul- 

One July Sunday, in 1790, Dr. Em- pit window, on one of which hangs 

mons found his audience inattentive the blue-black cloak, and on the other 



and sleepy. Suddenly he closed his 
manuscript with a bang, grasped his 
three-cornered hat, descended from 
the high pulpit, and strode rapidly 
down the broad aisle and out of the 
church, leaving his awakening con- 
gregation rubbing their eyes and won- 
dering \\ hat it all meant. 

The last service in the old church 
of Dr. Emmons was held September 
28, 1840 ; it was the service over the 
remains of the venerable doctor, who 
was ordained sixty-seven years before. 
The very next day the work of demo- 
lition was begun, and carpenters were 
busy with their alterations. Thus the 
ancient church passed away, to live 
only in the memory of gray-haired 
men and women, whose religions 
instructions were received under its 
spacious roof. 

" But what pictures can produce its 
interior on some pleasant Sunday 



always the three-cornered clerical hat ; 
by no means omitting the short, live 




itKV. WILLIAM 



IK Wkl IN AM) WRENTH \\\ 



17 



preacher in the pulpit, with clear, 
sharp eye, b ild, shining head, small, 
penetrating voice, and gesture to his 
manuscript ; 1 he square pew s, too, 
seated on four sides, with a drop seal 
across the narrow door, and the 
si raighl cushion chair in 1 he cenl re 
for grandmol her, filled ever} one \\ ii li 
sedate f ices, ovi 1 which white hairs 
unusually predominate; the long seats 
hemming the galleries piled with hats 
againsl the two aisles, which a puff of 
wind from the porch entries some- 
times sends scattering down upon the 
heads below ; the singers' seats filling 
the fronl gallery opposite the pulpit, 
in which nol hing bigger t han a pitch- 
pipe for ye irs dared utter a note ; the 
boys' seats in tli • southwest elbow of 
1 he gal I e ries, ea :li boy with an eye on 
the tithing man in the opposite cor- 
ner, while 1 In' 1 »t her eve wanders or 





1 III flHS'l STUA\> »DS I \' roit\" IN FRAXKLIN 

sleeps, and both ears anxiously open 
to the neighing of horses in the sheds 
and 1I1 ■ twil ter of 1 he birds in 1 he 
Loinbn I'd y poplars near by." 

The pitch-pipe, it is said, held sway 
for years, until the march of alleged 
improvements in music at length 
overpower id the little minister's de- 
cided object ions, and a bass viol \\ as 
duly installed v\ here the pitch-pipe 
had reigned supreme. 1 1 is also said 
1 hat t he doughty dh ine on the da} of 
1 he im rodud ion 1 if 1 lie s iol, diplomat- 
icall y bending befon t that he 



AMU l; I 0. RICHARDSON. 

oould not turn aside, somew hat crust- 
ily prefaced his morning hymn by 
saying : " The choir will fiddle and 
sing the — tit hymn !" The pitch-pipe 
and base viol quarrel was but the 
later echo of the musical strife neai I y 
one hundred years before,when after 
Hindi quarrelling it was 
voted by the church "to 
sing no other t unes than arc 
Prickt Down in 1 iur former 
Psalm Bi >oks, and T( 1 Sing 
Them as They are Prickt 
down in them as Near as 
they can.'* Joseph Whiting 
w as to set the t unes in the 
church, but rebellious Bro- 
ther David Pond, with a 
mind and voice of his o\\ n, 
is duly •• church mauled " 
for •• striking into a pitch ol 
1 lie 1 une on February 1 s . 1 739, in 1 he 

public w orship, in the for< 11, 

1,1 ised above \\ hat was set . 1 he 
question being put whether the 
church •• apprehends this our Brot her 
I ),i vid I 'ond's so doing to be disoi 
derly," it is decided in I he affirmal i\ e, 
and David Pond is suspended, and so 

coiil nine- for thirteen yeai>. w hen he 

is dul v penitent and tardily Eorgh en. 
It has been 1 ecorded that "all sang 
1 he same part, and with an energy be- 
gotten of facing norl heasters, felling 
foresl trees and shouting to bard} 



FRANKLIN AND WRENTHAM. 



oxen winding among their stumps.'" 
No two sang alike, and the sounds 
were so grievous to the ears of the 
people that their distress found a 
voice in the rebuke to the willful 
David. 

Apropos of the old sounding-board, 
which so long hung, like the sword of 
Damocles, above the head of the fa- 
mous divine, it was spirited away to 
the town of Ashland, where it found 
a resting place upon the top of a well- 
house, while the breastwork of the 
famous pulpit landed in the lecture- 
room of the Chicago Theological Sem- 
inary. Doubtless it was supposed to 
be thoroughly impregnated with the 




THE BOOKS GIVEN TO THE TOWN OF FRANKLIN BY 
BENJAMIN IK \N1\I.I\. 



logic of the sturdy old doctor. 

A Franklin boy who sat under the 
preaching of the famous divine gives 
the following estimate of his charac- 
ter as a preacher and leader of the 
people; "There are few ministers 
living who would feel like putting on 
the cocked hat or acknowledging 
themselves big enough to fill out that 
well-remembered suit of small-clothes. 
His head was like a battery of 
thought, sending out startling shocks 
for limp theologians. No doubt a 
huge number of ministers would like 
to succeed in that same way, and 
would speedily don cocked hat, small- 
clothes, shoe and knee buckles, if by 
so doing they could make 
people wheel into line as 
the old doctor did. Those 
.that went of a Sabbath 
upt > the quain told church 
found a- minister in it who 
did his own thinking/* 
From that high pulpit he 
tired the solid shot of 
truth down through (heir 
heads into their hearts. 
I lis Sabbath sermons were 
the sensation of the week. 
Old farmer; leaned upon 
their hoe-handles and dis- 
cussed their meaning with 
the passers-by. His argu- 
ments had points that 
were sharp and bristling, 
and they stuck. His ar- 
guments were like ex- 
press trains, going from 
premise to conclusion 
without stopping at way 
stations. " No one who 
started with him (accept- 
ing his premises) on his 
trains of reasoning ever 
found himself ticketed for 
one place and sidetracked 
at an other." His old ser- 
mons are models of con- 



cise reasoning. He made 



Franklin \ni> w rentham. i., 

no allowance for shrinkage in the espying myriads of caterpillars' tents 
terms *' eternal " and "everlasting." upon which the farmer was waging .1 
One of his favorite sayings was ; •■ I destructive warfare, said : "Well, Mr. 
never try to revise the statutes of B., what are you destroying now?" 
the Almighty." "You say;" retorted llie farmer. 
Dressed in his quaint fashion, lie •■ 1 1 n ■ \ say von know everything." 
walked the streets, erect in person, l4 0h, that's the army of the Lord." 
short in stature, with narrow, s 1 h "Is, hey ' Well, you know Him bet- 
face, small piercing blue eye, n stern tern I do; you jusl tell Him to keep 
but pleasant expression, his hands His peskj troops out of m\ orchard." 
crossed behind him, with his arms In 1840 a beautiful granite monu- 
resting upon his hips, his step elastic, menl was erected to the memory of 
but moderately slow, cordially greet- the eminent divine. The idea was 
ing the young, the middle-aged and conceived by Dr. Waylaud, president 
old alike. of Brown University, and carried to 
It i> related that early in the cen- completion by the late Rev. William 
tury a wonderful mineral spring was M. Thayer. An association was 
believed to exist in t'ne neighboring formed, and il was voted to erccl the 
t >\\n of Bellingham. Dr. rhurber monument "on or near the spot win re 
1 - the reigning medical authority of the old meeting-house stood, thai spol 
those days. Visiting the spring, after hallowed 03 his faithful labors of more 
wise shakings of the head and many than half a century, and thai house 
mysterious incantations he declared where his voice was heard al its dcdi- 
that he believed the spring to contain cation, and in which the last services 
jalap, and thai it was good for " sick- performed were his funeral solemni- 
ness." The fame of the wonderful ties." This article was made tinall 
healing waters came to the ears of Dr. able, excepl by unanimous vote of 
Amnions. Soinewliat impaired in the association. Here the monumenl 
health, the good doctor al once re- stood, revered and admired by all, 
paired to the spring, and, following until some strange freak in violation 
the sage advice of Dr. Thurber, drank of the unalterable provision of the 
so plentifully of the jalap waters thai constitution of the association re- 
Ins return j lurnej was a penance long moved the beautiful memorial to the 
to be remembered. He gave no testi- solitude of the village cemetery, 
in mials as to the wonderful virtues where il is seldom seen and is nearh 
of tin' waters of the Bellingham forgotten. 

spring, Stretching away from Franklin 

Among the neighbors of Dr. Em- Village toward Wrentham is a beau 

mons was a shrewd old ^ anke farmer tiful expanse know n .1- Mann's Plain, 

of sharp wit and limber tongue, thor- Here stands the house in which Hor- 

oughly impregnated with profanity, ace Mann was born in 1790. The 

Strange to say, the woitli\ divine old house was of two stories, nearly 

found much amusemenl inconversing square upon the ground floor, with a 

with the worldly old farmer, and rambling L running from it al righl 

< I - ■ 1 1 1 \ enjoyed a brush al wits with angles. A few ice the old 

his uneducated neighb >r. Riding l>\ homestead became the property of an 

one day in his famous two-wheeled eccentric man of some means and 

chaise, he saw his profane friend more architectural vagaries. Toward 

busily at work in an apple tree. Halt- the blue >l<\ the famous old house 

ing for a little chat, the "Id doctor, was started, and othej storii 



20 



FRANKLIN AND WRHNTHAM. 




I R WKI IN \M I \\ REN 1 MAW 



21 



added to till t li<- space below. 
St range decoral ions appeared 
at all sorts of unexpected 
angles, while the whole was 
surmounted by h wonderful 
creation in the way of a 
tower. I ts unc( unpleted con- 
dition bears silent wit ness t< i 
i lir strange freaks ami de- 
pleted pocketbook of the 
baukrupl advenl urer. I (ere 
I [orace .M inn firsl saw tin' 
light ,uiil breathed the air of 
the dear <»1<1 town of \\ hieh 
in lat<T life he became the 
in< ist ill ^t Inguished son. Here 

he passed his !>o\ hood da\ s, 
which, a j he describes t hem. 
w ere rendered gloom}' by t he 
prevailing ail i il a mi isl rigid 
Calvinistie tlieoh igy. Al- 
though of a lively tempera- 
ment, full of fun and up In 
all sort i of mischief, he led 
a repressed lite, w hieh bent 
under t he stern ideal < >l i bose 
early days. Lett fatherless 
at an early age, povcrt y com- 
pelled him to woi k earl v ami 
late while \ et a mere boy. 

Industry became second na- 

i • ii i •• i i'im: point — nisAvi n i'onp. 

t lire to III ill. •• 1 mleeil. he 

says, "owing to ingrained habits, ance than individual health or life. 

work ban always been t<> me what So closely did he apply bimsell that 

water is to a fish. This compensa- alter barely six months study <>t 

tion I derive from the rigor of my Latin be was prepared to enter the 

earl} life." rnheriting a delicate sophomore class of Brown I niver- 

constitution, his severe labors under- sity. Alter being graduated from 

mined his physical health, and he college, he fitted himsell for the bar. 

learned by bitter experience to set Of most brilliant parts, and fast 

great value upon its possession. He achieving lame ami fortune, he was 

frequently used to sa} to bis pupils elected to the Massachusetts House 

and young friends: •• It is a dim to ol Representatives; thence to the 

be well.'* A great lover of athletic Senate, of which he became presi 

sports, in lii-> own case he would jus- dent. Becoming secretar} ol the 

tiiA his transgressions physically l>\ newli formed State Ii .aid "I Educa- 

saying that the cause to which he tion, he found therein his ideal, and 

devoted his life was of more import- to it gave his life's best work. Six 




22 



FRANKLIN AND WRENTHAM. 



of the best years of his life were giv- 
en to developing his ideas of educa- 
tion, in which he worked with all the 
energy of a Horace Mann. Elected 
to Congress to fill the place made 
vacant by the death, on the floor of 
the House, of John Quincy Adams, 
he was a member of Congress at the 
period of the hottest slavery agita- 
tion. His opposition to Webster 
precipitated a battle royal between 
giants, and although for the moment 



to become the president of an ob- 
scure, impoverished Western college 
in obedience to an ideal, was a cham- 
pion worthy to meet even Daniel 
Webster on equal terms. One who 
knew him well says: "There were 
in Mr. Mann two directly opposed 
sides of character ; the lion-like stern- 
ness and combativeness which he 
showed toward his enemies or the 
enemies of the right, and the affec- 
tionate, tender nature which he 




DINING BOOM— DEAN ACADEMY— COMMENCEMENT DAY. 



victory seemed to rest with the Great 
Expounder, the verdict of posterity 
has confirmed Horace Mann's judg- 
ment of the cause. In the shadow 
of the State House dome the ancient 
gladiators silently stand side by side. 
as if still awaiting the verdict of lat- 
er generations upon their immortal 
combat. Franklin with pride points 
to her champion, and claims him as 
peerless and without reproach. The 
man who would decline a nomination 
for the governorship of Massachusetts 



showed to his family and dearest 
friends. At times he would plead, 
melting even to tears ; sometimes 
turn upon his hearers all his old law- 
yer's logic, and pour out his wrath in 
fiery sarcasm. In either case his 
power was great. His presence, too, 
was imposing, bis figure tall and 
slender, swaying with emotion, the 
dome-like head crowned with silver 
hair, and the eyes piercing. Memory 
retains that figure in all its impress- 
iveness, while others have faded.'* 



L.ofC. 



FRANKLIN \Nh \\ I'lA I ! I \ \\ 



23 



>lui\ are the anecdotes related by ure, and of a generous nose sur- 
the aged men and women of Franklin mounted by spectacles. Young Hor- 
concerning the youthful daj's of Hor- ace and bis fellow-conspirators, well 
ace Mann. The little red school- knowing the habits of Master Hills, 
house where Horace and bis mates inveigled a lusty shoal into the 
wnii to school stood at the fork of schoolhouse entr} in the early morn ; 
the road but n few minutes' walk from then, secreting tbemselves in the ad- 
the Mann homestead. Two of bis jacenl gra} birches, they awaited de- 
mosl intimate friends were the " Gil- velopment. The master appeared, 
in we li >ys," relatives of the famous forced open the door against the sup- 
writer, ''Edmund Kirk'" (J. II. <iil- pn.se. 1 intruder, who. darting >wil'tl\ 
more). They were rare companions mil. caught tin' pedagogue astride 
in mischief and boj'ish games. Among his back and gave him an impromptu 




1; 1 wi.i: I'OXD, 



the famous teachers in the little ride over the dooryard. During the 

1 il house w - ■• M ister Hills," a protestations of Lhe hog and the 1111 

pedagogue of the olden type, wl jo be- precations oi the amj,i\ pedagogue, 

lieved in two things implicitly hunting for his spectacles and hat 

youthful depravity and birch twigs, and wig, the young scamps disap- 

It is needless to an,) that no love was peared swiftly among the _;ia\ birches 

wa>ted between master and pupils, and into the solitudes ol Manns 

1 1 w as t he custom of Master Hills to Plain. 

care for his little schoolr 1 himself Franklin Village perpetuates the 

.1- to fires and sweeping. Ever) fame of her distinguished son by giv- 
morning at eight o'clock he repaired ing his name to the beautiful high 
to the schoolr 11 to begin his labors school building. Surely t lore fit- 
as janitor. He was n man ofdiminu- ting monu nl could be erected to 

ti\ e siat ne. of highly en iiat- his memon than this beautiful edi- 



24 



FRANKLIN AND WRENTHAM. 



fice, dedicated to the cause of edu- 
cation and the life work of Horace 
Mann. 

Among the names of men forming 
an integral part of Franklin's life in 
history none shines with a steadier or 
more beneficent light than that of Dr. 
Oliver Dean, founder of the famous 
Dean Academy. Dr. Dean was born 
in Franklin in 1783. After receiving 
his medical degree he practiced a few 
years in Boston. In 1812 he removed 
to Medway. After five years' practice 
there, he broke down in health and 
abandoned his profession to assume 
the superin tendency of the Medway 
cotton mill. For nine years he gave 
his energies to this industry. This 
gave him a wide reputation, and in 
1826 lie was chosen superintendent of 
the young Amoskeag Manufacturing 
Company at Manchester, New Hamp- 
shire. So skillfully did he manage the 
affairs of the company that he secured 
an interest in the corporation, and in 
a, few years accumulated a. large for- 
tune. Retiring, for ten years he re- 
sided in Framingham. In 1851 here- 
turned to his native town to spend his 
remaining days. Purchasing a por- 
tion of the farm of the deceased Dr. 
Emmons, he devoted his last years 
to plans for the education of youth. 
This resulted in the founding of Dean 
Academy, one of the most thoroughly 
equipped and endowed educational 
institutians in the State. Dr. Dean, 
to establish the school, gave a tract of 
about nine acres in the heart of the 
village. lie also gave ten thousand 
dollars toward the building and fifty 
thousand dollars as a permanent fund. 
Accepting his offer, the trustees se- 
cured plans, and broke ground in 
August. 1866. Wartime prices and 
continual advances in material and 
labor so increased the cost of building 
that Dr. Dean gave over seventy live 
thousand dollars to the cause. This 
building was destroyed by lire in the 



summer of 1872. The friends of the 
school rallied from this calamity and 
in less than two years a new building 
was ready for dedication. The build- 
ing is of the Gothic style, and archi- 
tecturally very graceful. Its beauti- 
ful tower is a landmark for miles 
around. It has accommodations for 
over a hundred resident pupils, with 
schoolrooms and a fine gymnasium of 
ample proportions. Franklin is justly 
proud of Dean Academy ; and the 
memory of Dr. Dean is cherished 
with reverence and love. Dr. Dean 
gave to the school by gift and by his 
will over a quarter of a million of 
dollars. 

During all the years since the open- 
ing of the school its doors have been 
opened each year to a throng of pu- 
pils from all parts of the country, 
and they have carried from their 
alma- mater a loyal interest in Dean 
and in Franklin, manifested by gifts 
to the institution and in the incom- 
ing young people who with each new 
school year come to it through their 
influence. The elms on its now beau- 
tiful campus have grown tall and 
stately, and its vine-covered build- 
ing and shaded driveways make a 
marked feature in the beautiful 
centre of the village. This beauty 
will be still further enhanced by the 
Library Building and the new Ray 
Science Building, the generous gift 
to the school of the same ladies who 
are building the former. The interior 
as well as the exterior of the Acad- 
emy has shared in the prosperity of 
the school, and halls and parlors, re- 
ception-rooms and dining room, show 
beautiful pictures and statuary, the 
gifts of classes, of alumni and friends. 
The building of the new Science 
Building makes an available room 
for a new and enlarged library, and 
interested friends have made possible 
the elaborate fitting of this room for 
its useful purpose. Jt is finished h\ 



FR WK1 IN Wli WREN I li \\\. 



oak, with a massive mantel and fin "Suci — and It- Vchievers, •• l?act, 

place, and abundanl facilities for Push and Principle,' 1 have found 

reading and study in beautiful sui their wa} into thousands of libraries 

roundings. Each annual Commence and homes. 

men! brings large numbers to the In the history "l the town no 
school, and the annual dinner of names appear with more frequenc) 
Commencement Day, addressed by than the Fishers, Ponds and Whit- 
leading men of the day, is an at trar ings h has been humorously ?aid 



tive feature of the town lift 

A distinguished 
son of Franklin, 
w h ise name has 
gone abroad in 
many lands,is\V in. 
Makepeace Thay- 
er. 1 1 1- recent de- 
cease !vui"\ es a fa- 
miliar figure from 
our streel and a 
guidinghand h om 
all our public af- 
fairs. Although 
educated for the 
ministry, and fo] 
\ ears a successful, 
i. ivceful preacher, 
In- besl claim to 
fame is found in 
[lis works as an 
am hoi . He was a 
prolific \\ riter, ;i 
mastei ol terse, 
vigorous English, 
with a peculiar 
now er "l ai resl ing 
attention and 
clinching his 
points. 1 1 1- w rit- 
ings have been 
translated into 
many langu ig 

and found their wa) into man) c »uu- 
tries. Hi- ■• Bobbin B03 ," •• P001 
B • and Merchant Prince," •■ From 
Log < abin to White House," •■ From 
Tannery to White House," in turn 
tell thi stor) of Banks, Stewart, Li 
coin and Grant in a waj that com- 
mands the attenti i old and young. 

His •• Marvels, ' ' Nev Wi 



th it •• there are more Fishers than 




.M)<1 I'll (i 1; v v . 

Ponds in Franklin." Among the 
many descendiinta of sturdy old 
W iliis Fisher, a lineal descendant of 
A nthom . \\ ho came 1 1 1 uti S\ leh.am, 
1 , land, to 1 >edham in I 637, is the 

1 1 n able M ilton M . Fisher, now of 

Medway. He was born in South 

Franklin in L811, and has recently 

ted In- eighty-eighth birthda} 



26 



FRANKLIN AND WRENTHAM. 



at his beautiful home in Medway. 
Deacon Fisher, as he is best known, 
is a remarkable man, and has for 
many years been regarded as " the 
sage of Medway.'' Contemporary 
with and an intimate friend of the 
poet Whittier, William Lloyd Garri- 
son, Wendell Phillips and others of 
the ancient abolitionists, he is indeed 
one of the old guard, whose numbers 
are so few that ere long it may be 
said truly that the old guard is dead 
but never surrendered. Franklin 
proudly claims Mr. Fisher as one of 
her most distinguished sons. 

Franklin has an unusual number of 
literary men who have achieved a, na- 
tional reputation. Among them is 
Jas. R. Gilmore (" Edmund Kirke " ). 
author of "Among the Pines" and 
other interesting stories of the war. 
Albert D. Richardson, the famous 
war correspondent of the New York 
Tribune, author of " Field, Dungeon 
and Escape," kt Beyond the Missis- 
sippi. " and many other works, was 
born in the old family mansion on 
Franklin Hill. Shot in the Tribune 
office by the crazy McFarlane, his 
remains were brought to Franklin and 
buried in the ancient cemetery. A 
beautiful monument marks the spot, 
well worn by the feet of visitors. His 
brother, the late Rev. Charles A. 
Richardson, for many years editor of 
the Cortyregationalist, was a Franklin 
boy, and his descendants hold honor- 
able places in the town of his na- 
tivity. 

Ever closely linked with the mater- 
ial prosperity of Franklin will be the 
names of the famous Ray brothers, 
synonymous with enterprise, business 
daring, wonderful financial manage- 
ment and foresight. From humble 
beginnings in 1 Soil, without capital 
or influence, the Ray brothers steadily 
increased in wealth and in business 
enterprises until their fame and influ- 
ence extended far and wide. To them 



is largely due the upbuilding of 
Franklin and its continued prosper- 
ity. The two elder brothers, Francis 
B. and James P. Ray, have completed 
their life labors and passed on into 
the silence. Tho Honorable Joseph 
G. Ray, erect,vigorous and in the full 
possession of his wonderful adminis- 
trative powers, is a marked man in 
every business circle which he enters. 
" To him more than to any living 1 
man are the people of Franklin in- 
debted for the completion of the 
beautiful church and Dean Acad- 
emy.' * The Ray brothers have con- 
tributed largely to every good word 
and work, both by deeds and liberal 
financial support. They have for a 
long period of years been connected 
financially and personally with every 
important business undertaking in 
Franklin since they became citizens 
of the town. 

The sudden death, in 18'JS. of the 
Honorable William F. Ray, son of 
Francis B. Ray, was a severe blow to 
Franklin. Succeeding to the business- 
of his deceased parent, by energy and 
remarkable capacity he widened the 
field of activity far beyond its former 
borders. Recognizing his great abil- 
ity, his constituents repeatedly re- 
turned him to the General Court, 
where he became a leader, and at the 
time of his death he was the most 
prominent candidate for Congress 
from his district. 

One factor in the continued pros- 
perity of New England towns is di- 
versity of industries. Towns which 
have but one source of employment 
for their wage-earners suffer period- 
ical seasons of depression. Panics, 
strikes or business mismanagement 
entail wholesale disaster in commun- 
ities of limited industries. The town 
of Franklin is established upon the 
firm business foundation of half a 

* Mr. Ray died February 24, 1900. 



FKANkl IN AM - WREN I M \ W 



1 




28 



FRANKLIN AND WRENTHAM. 



•score of flourishing manufactories. 
Although here and there a chimney 
may cease to wave its blue banner in 
the morning breeze, it is scarcely 
missed among the many in the tree- 
tops of the thriving town. Woollen 
and cotton mills, knitting and felt- 
establishments, straw and felt hat fac- 
tories, machine shops, shoddy mills, 
rubber goods, electroplating, a large 
and thriving piano factory, mill sup- 
plies, lumber yards, with sash and 



blind factories, carriage shops, and a 
score of lesser industries, keep busy 
wheels and spindles humming at all 
seasons of the year. With electric 
road enterprises galore looming in 
the horizon on either hand, freedom 
from municipal indebtedness, moder- 
ate tax rates, business men of push, 
foresight and caution, Franklin stands 
a-tiptoe on the verge of the new cen- 
tury, ready for the brilliant career 
which is certainly just before her. 



APPENDIX. 



Letter of Franklin to Dr. Price in regard 
to books for Franklin Library: 

To Richard Prick. 

1'assy, 18 March, 1785. 
Dkar Friend— 

My nephew, Mr. Williams, will have the 
honor of delivering you this line. It is to 
request from you a list of a few good books, 
to the value of about twenty-five pounds, 
such as are most proper to inculcate princi- 
ples of sound religion and just government. 
A new town in the State of Massachusetts 
has done me the honor of naming itself after 
me, and proposing to build a steeple to their 
meeting house if I would give them a bell. 
I have advised the sparing themselves the 
expense of a steeple for the present, and 
that they would accept of books instead of a 
bell — sense being preferable to sound. These 
are intended as the commencement of a little 
parochial library for the use of a society of 
intelligent, respectable farmers, such as our 
country people generally consists of. Besides 
your own works, I would only mention, on 
the recommendation of my sister, "Stennett's 
Discourse on Personal Religion," which may 
be one book of the number, if you know and 
approve it. 

With the highest esteem and respect, I am 
ever, my dear friend, 

Your most affectionate, 

P. Franklin. 

In reply to this letter Dr. Price wrote from 
Newington Green, England, June 3, 1785, 
and after speaking of Mr. Williams' visit, 
says: 



"I have, according to yourdesire, furnished 
him with a list of such books on religion and 
government as I think some of the best, and 
added a present to the parish that is to bear 
your name of such of my own publications 
as I think may not he unsuitable. Should 
this be the commencement of parochial libra- 
ries in the States, it will do great good." 



Soon after receiving the books Rev. Na- 
thaniel Emmons, the minister of the parish, 
preached a sermon, which was published in 
1787. It bore the title: "The Dignity of 
Man ; a Discourse addressed to the Congre- 
gation in Franklin, upon the Occasion of 
their receiving from Dr. Franklin the Mark 
of his Respect in a rich Donation of Books 
appropriated to the Use of a Parish Library." 
The dedication was as follows: "To his 
Excellency Benjamin Franklin, President of 
the State of Pennsylvania; the Ornament of 
Genius, the Patron of Science and the Boast 
of Man; this discourse is inscribed with 
greatest Deference, Humility and Gratitude, 
by his obliged and most humble Servent, the 
Author." In the sermon Dr. Emmonsurged 
the importance of intellectual and moral cul- 
ture, pointing out the reasons therefor and 
enforcing the use of them by argument. He 
referred to the example of Franklin as a per- 
tinent illustration of his theme. The text of 
the sermon was: "Show thyself a man." 






* & ... v— ^ ... <►. 







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.V 



IP V / N MANCHESTER. 

K£^ INDIANA 







